The Sky is Falling
by DeathIsInteresting
Summary: Anna's forced to move to La Push by her family and hates the place more than her mother's cooking. But with the pack as a welcoming committe she's drawn into their world instantly. And there's no going back for her, considering she's been imprinted on.
1. Nostalgia

**A/N - Since the movie came out I've noticed there are so many more BxE stories on here than imprinting; so one more 'finding your soulmate and then finding problems too' story couldn't hurt, right? **

**Full Summary - Anna has no choice but to move to La Push when her mom remarries to a Quileute man, even though she hates the place more than her mother's cooking. Her new stepfather just so happens to be Sue Clearwater's brother though and she's introduced to the pack straight away, however a dozen half naked guys wasn't her idea of a welcoming committee. She also didn't expect to find out that the same guys are werewolves and that one of them is desperately and irrevocably in love with her. But Anna's not about to give into fate that easily though, especially when she's determined to get out of the reservation. Oh, the toils of imprinting. (Set after Breaking Dawn). **

**Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight or any recognisable characters.**

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**1: Nostalgia**

I don't like thinking about my dad, I don't want to remember but at the same time I don't ever want to forget. It's been two years, two years since the car crash but it feels like an eternity. An eternity since I've seen him.

Mom's moved on and I suppose I'm happy for her, but I'll never call Lewis 'dad'. Maddie probably will though, I mean she was only a baby when our real dad died, so I guess she'll grow up with Lewis as a father figure. I'm already grown up, I don't need another father figure. I mean, I admire Lewis for having the balls to take on a single mother and her teenager and toddler, not many men would take that shot, but it doesn't mean I'm ever gonna look up to him in the same way I did with my dad.

Their wedding was three weeks ago, then a week since they got back from their honeymoon and I was relieved of fulltime baby-sitting duty. Thank god they're back, Madison's a handful even with mom here to help. Right now though, I'm stuck in the backseat with the spawn-of-the-devil three year old as we drive to what's supposedly our new home in Washington. It's raining, but Lewis told me that heavy rain, grey skies and cold winds are the normal weather for this state and it seems like he's sadly right so far.

"Cheer up, Anna," Mom said, shooting me a smile in the rear-view mirror. She was overjoyed about everything that was happening, sometimes I even caught her staring at the ring on her finger as if it was worth a million bucks – but I knew Lewis wasn't _that_ loaded. To satisfy my mother I sent her a forced smile back, then averted my gaze back down to the magazine in my lap.

There were articles about new fall fashions and stuff about how to ask out your crush, nothing that was much use to me though. I'm not your average fashion conscience teen that would die if they didn't have the newest Gucci handbag, in fact I even asked my friends if I could wear my jeans and converses to prom. I guess I wont be going to prom with them though, heck if I don't like it in this place I may not even go to prom. And as for the dating information, it's also no use to me. Even if I did have a crush and asked him out, the odds are that he would say no. I wasn't the popular hottie in Charleston, actually I was the exact opposite - the school freak. See, I have this thing with my eyes called heterochromia which means one of them is blue and the other eye is hazel. It creeps a lot of people out and I don't blame them.

So I don't waste my time on fashion or dating, but I still get good grades and stay out of trouble. I flipped through the magazine, but found nothing of interest so I laid it down on the seat in between me and Madison. Maddie was currently asleep for once and I think we were all enjoying the quiet.

"You girls are just going to love it in La Push," Lewis said, turning off of route 101 onto a tree enclosed highway. There were a lot of trees here, but the murky greens and browns just blurred together as we drove by.

"Love's a strong word…" I muttered under my breath, but neither of them heard. I'm determined not to love it there, I don't even want to like it there.

"How much farther?" Mom asked, running a hand through her hair. She'd had it cut up to her shoulders, her curls only falling so far now. Madison had inherited her blond curls, whereas I have my dad's dark brown mop head. Well, it's not exactly a mop head but it's straight and falls far down my back sort of like a mop.

"Forty minutes or so," Lewis mumbled, turning down another road. This place was so densely hidden by the forest that it was slightly unnerving, another reason why I wouldn't like it here. The middle of nowhere was not my ideal hometown and I was missing South Carolina even more and more.

That was around the point when we heard a young yawn beside us and I glanced and saw Maddie staring back at me, confused. She'd been asleep for the majority of the ride, so I wasn't surprised that she had no clue why we were driving through the Peninsula. The Peninsula forest happened to be big, wooded, rainy and the other side of the country from my home. Charleston will always be my home, always. Lewis could dress his house and town up all he wanted, mom may love it there and so might Maddie but I'm telling you now I never will.

"Anna, check on your sister," Mom ordered me and I sighed and reached over, brushing Madison's curls out of her bright green eyes. Sometimes I envied her curls and sparkling eyes, she was such a pretty baby and always caught everyone's attention. I on the other hand just sat there whilst they cooed around her and if anyone turned to me, they'd see my heterochromatic irises and immediately look away.

Madison frowned up at me but then yawned again and looked away as I continued to ruffle her soft hair. I guess Maddie was the only friend I had here now, seeing as my small social circle lay back down in the south-east. How sad, my only friend is barely potty trained.

"Where are we?" She mumbled sleepily with her lisp, it was actually quite funny if you listened to Maddie try and talk for too long. She couldn't say her Rs yet so what she had just asked me sounded sort of like 'Way awe we?'. Whenever I laughed at her attempts of talking though, mom just gave me a warning look and then said I used to have a lisp too before I got braces when I was eleven. I always went quiet when she mentioned that, my braces had made me look even more like a freak during 6th grade as if my creepy eyes weren't enough.

"We're somewhere in the middle of nowhere," I told her simply and mom sent me a dark look via the rear-view mirror, then she twisted round to try and save my response.

"Actually, we're going to a wonderful place hidden in the fairy forests," Mom said, using her story-telling voice that always made Maddie's eyes light up.

I rolled my eyes at my mother, "You haven't got her believing in fairies still, have you?" I tutted and mom mimicked my expression.

"You're the one that took her to see Peter Pan..." She commented back and I looked away, all I could do to save my pride was ruffle Madison's hair again. It was true I'd taken her to see quite a few theatre adaptions of fairy tales over the past six months, mainly because baseball season had been over at the time. I'd also taken her to see The Wiggles in concert, which had been the most embarrassing thing **ever**.

"True, but at least I'm not making her believe in mythological creatures still. They are called 'mythological' for a reason; they're myths!" All mom did in response was sigh, unwilling to argue and twisted back around, muttering something to Lewis who laughed. Maddie was frowning at me now, probably because of what I said and I just frowned back.

"What does mefikul mwean?" She questioned, her eyes as large as saucers but sharp as blades. Madison was always like that, one thing and another at the same time. I was more straightforward, as you have probably noticed.

"Not real," I mumbled, crossing my arms across my chest and turning to face the window. More murky colours passed and I had to squint to even try to tell each tree apart, I've got to say I felt a bit car sick as I did so and soon gave up, letting the barks and countless leaves blur together again. Maybe it wasn't car sickness, just homesickness.

"Fairies aren't real?!?!" It was like my little sister had gone into shock, I can only imagine the hell when she finds out Santa Claus isn't real...

I could see Lewis's shoulders shaking slightly as he tried to contain his laughter, but just as I began to glare at the back of his head he spoke up, "Of course they are, Madison." He told her and her eyes instantly calmed.

Apparently, I'd never believed in fairy tales or myths as a kid. It wasn't surprising, I didn't even like watching the sad Disney films now; so you can just imagine the torture I had to go through when I took Maddie to see the play adaptations. Mom had always found it odd that I wasn't one of the girls who loved all the fictional nonsense about princesses or fairies, but then again I was odd.

**----------**

La Push wasn't just any tiny town, it was a tiny _fishing_town. With only a population of a few thousand people it was situated in between the forest and pacific ocean, and was supposedly special because it's the original settlement of the Quileute tribe - all of this I had learned from Lewis's lecture as we neared the town. Now we were driving down Thunder Road and my worst nightmares were only a few more minutes ride away. I didn't know where Lewis lived exactly, mom had stayed there a few times or so since they got together but she'd never brought us with her. I didn't know what I was expecting of his place, maybe a house that was cramped beyond belief, or a mansion though that was highly unlikely. Most of the houses here were made of wood or had paneling as it's exterior and from the look of it, the interior of them couldn't be that big.

At least the road wasn't tappered by trees here and I could quite clearly see it's end, down by the beach barely a mile away. This town was probably the size of our old neighbourhood, but slightly more spread out.

"Here we are," Lewis announced suddenly and we pulled to a stop in front of a quaint little log house on the side of the road. It had what looked like an rose bush to the side of it as well as an old greenhouse, though the majority of the glass panes were smashed and it didn't seem as if there were any plants in there. I noticed there were only three windows on the second story, and if one of them was a bathroom that couldn't be good. I'd never shared a room with Maddie and I was sooo not planning on doing that here.

"It's lovely, isn't is." Mom murmured to herself and I groaned inwardly, lovely wasn't the word I would've chosen.

"Are we there yet?" Madison asked, oblivious but it made us all laugh.

"Unfortunately we are, kiddo," I told her and she tried to look out the window, but her car-seat wasn't high enough and she frowned at her own failure.

The happy couple got out of their seats and mom walked round to the back to Maddie, sending me a reassuring smile as she got the toddler out of the car-seat. Lewis was already up the porch steps, trying to carry all of our bags at once. It was quite funny watching him with several duffels in each hand as he tried to unlock the door, but not once did he lose his balance which was surprising. He was sturdier than I had thought.

I wasn't sure what to do, so I just sat there for a few minutes whilst the rest of my family, not including my stepfather, went inside. I was unsure whether I should just get out and pretend I'm not screaming inside or dive into the front seat and hot wire the car so I can get the hell home. I made my decision and unbuckled my seat belt, reluctantly opening my door a second afterwards. I was not looking forward to this.

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**So how was that, should I continue? Please review..**


	2. Isle of Palms

**A/N - Great responses from the first chapter, so I put this up as soon as I could. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight or any recognisable characters.**

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**2: Isle of Palms**

I wasn't sure what I was doing, I'd never 'bedazzled' anything before in my life. I'd bought Maddie the kit for her birthday, but I suppose we'd never got around to testing the thing out before. We'd gotten around to it now, Madison was sitting next to me, going away at mom's favourite skirt with the beads as if she was on sugar rush. Don't worry, I didn't let my three year old little sister get on sugar rush at 7pm, I'm not that stupid...or masochistic.

"Your doing it wrong..." Maddie told me, well she lisped me. Her green eyes were twinkling as she continued with her work and I only glanced down at mine, knowing she was right and that I _was_ doing it wrong.

We were sitting in what was supposedly my bedroom, though I still wasn't sure. Basically, there were only two bedrooms, one being Lewis and mom's and the other one was the size of a cupboard, so that was now Maddie's nursery and I had what I think was the attic. It wasn't that big up here either, and there was only one window in the form of a large skylight. I knew it was raining heavily, even without looking up because I could hear the constant drumming on the glass - that would get annoying after a while. Lewis had set up a bed in the corner, and there was an old desk up here, but nothing that screamed 'this is an adolescents room'. My duffels were slumped onto the bed and I had two boxes with the rest of my shit in them. Mom and Lewis were round at his sister's house, having their own little welcoming party. I'd refused to go with them, feigning stomach ache and sadly I was now stuck babysitting and bedazzling.

"I'm ungwee," She told me, pushing the skirt aside. I raised an eyebrow at her, how could she be hungry? We'd just had take out!

"Are you serious?" She nodded, not even reacting to my skeptic tone. It was times like these when I wish she didn't have the metabolism of an Olympic athlete. "Well...it's past your bed time anyw-" She grabbed my sleeve frantically and looked up at me with that puppy-dog look.

"Pwease!!!" She was on the verge of tears, but I knew she was just being melodramatic.

"I'll see what I can do - stay right here." She let go and grabbed the skirt again. As she went back to ruini- I mean editing mom's skirt, I got up and went to the staircase. Each floorboard creaked under my feet and I knew that would get annoying too. I'd never liked creaking floorboards, they always freaked me out and after watching too many horror films I'm sure I've become paranoid about people walking behind me discreetly. I had to remind myself there were no psychopaths in this house...that I'd seen. I took the stairs two at a time and before I knew it I found myself in the kitchen, not knowing what appliances to use or even where things were kept. Great.

I opened what I'd guessed was a built-in refrigerator and found I'd been correct, I skimmed it's contents over before tugging out a loaf of bread and jar of crunchy peanut butter. I don't like to brag, but I am the best sandwich maker in the world...or I was in Charleston at least. Maybe I would have some competition here? Maybe.

I spread the pb evenly and then put the other slice on top, and after looking in several cupboards I found a plate and put the sandwich on it. Maddie was calling me from upstairs, so I switched the kitchen light off and stumbled back up the first staircase. Halfway up though there was a knock on the door.

"Who the hell..." I muttered under my breath, leaving the plate on the step and then hopping back down. Out of habit, I looked through the peep-hole to see...a very tall girl standing in the downpour. Frowning, I opened the door and she turned her measuring gaze down to me, a fake smile slowly spread across her face. "Err...hello?"

"You must be Annie." She said, running a hand through her short black hair and shaking out the drops of rain. It was almost like a boys, cropped and shaggy. She was insanely beautiful and instead of smelling of perfume like most insanely beautiful girls I knew, she smelled...sort of woodsy.

"_Anna_." I corrected and mimicked her fake smile, "Seeing as you know who I am, am I supposed to know who you are?"

She laughed and said, "I'm Leah Clearwater - your step-cousin." It was then I noticed that she was only wearing a soaked yellow polo-shirt (the arms were torn off!) and denim shorts, I frowned even deeper and she just laughed more.

"Aren't you cold or wet?" I questioned and she just shook her head, "Well, not to be rude but why the hell are you here?"

"Your mom said you weren't feeling well and since I wasn't in the partying mood I offered to come and check up on you and Marilyn." She explained, coming inside without needing to be asked. I didn't miss the opportunity to shut the door though, the cool breeze had been chilling me. Leah folded her arms across her chest and raised a perfectly plucked brow at me, as if waiting for me to talk.

"Umm, her name's Madison." The brow dropped and she shrugged, "Do you want to come upstairs?" She shrugged again and I started back up the steps, retrieving Maddie's sandwich. Leah followed me eventually, but didn't talk as we climbed the stairs. It surprised me when we entered my attic-room and she actually smiled at Madison who had now moved on to bedazzling her teddy-bear.

"Whose that?" She asked, sizing Leah up.

"Leah..." I muttered and perched myself on the end of the bed, "Here's your food." I gave her the plate and she looked at it for a moment then pouted and put it aside before going back to her work. I glared at her before collapsing backwards on the mattress.

"Bedazzling?" Leah mused and I groaned inwardly, "Claire used to have one of those...but Embry stepped on it," I didn't know who she was talking about and I didn't really care.

"You wanna twy?" Maddie asked her and I heard Leah sit down on the floor with a soft thud. At least Leah could keep the kid occupied for a bit and I could rest. The time change was killing me.

"I have to go now, my...shift's about to start," Leah told me after we'd finally got Maddie to bed. It was about 8:30 and I knew mom would kill me when Madison bragged about staying up late tomorrow morning, oh well I would take whatever she threw at me with a smile on my face, then I'd find her key to the liqour bar I'd seen in the dining room.

"You have graveyard shift?" She laughed and nodded, reluctantly I opened the door for her and she left, sending me a genuine smile as she headed towards the line of trees. I took a look around the drive, Lewis's car still wasn't back and I sighed. This would be a long night.

**----------**

I was back on the Isle of Palms with my friends, we were on the beach just soaking in the sun. I could see out across the pacific, to the small sandy strips of lands that lay a mile into the water. Monica and Amber were giggling over some hot boy that'd just passed us, only I hadn't seen him. I smiled to myself, wishing desperately that this dream wouldn't end. Only it did.

"ANNA?!" Mom's tone was angry, amazed and amused, though more the first. I blinked open my eyes to find her standing over me, arms on hips. Dim sunlight poured in through the skylight and it took me a few seconds to remember where I was, then at the realization I groaned. Mom continued shaking me though till in the end I sat up. "It's 1 in the afternoon and you're still asleep???"

"Well, I _was_..." I muttered and she just rolled her eyes.

"Get up, we're going to Sue's for lunch." I groaned again and swung my legs off the mattress and onto the cold wooden floor. A shiver ran up my spine and mom marched back to the staircase, "And don't even think about going back to sleep," I stuck my tongue out at her as she disappeared.

Lunch was a prospect at least and my stomach growled in agreement, food was the reason why I forced myself to my bags and grabbed some sweats and an old tank-top. I retrieved my deoderant and hairbrush too and got ready, then decided it was way too cold for just a tank. I tugged out an old grey sweater and put it on, then looked at myself in my small hand mirror. My eyes were no longer bloodshot, the hazel and blue still hazed by sleepiness though. My bangs were escaping from the twist I'd put my hair in but I just brushed them aside and stumbled downstairs.

Mom, Lewis and Maddie were in the living rooms. Lewis was hiding her skirt behind his back and winked at me as I came in, perhaps he was good for some things. It didn't surprise me that Madison was wearing her dress-up tiara, it also didn't surprise me that mom was trying to get the tiara.

"Morning sleepyhead...well good afternoon," Lewis said to me and I glared at him.

"Lets get going then!" Mom said, picking Maddie up. With one arm she ushered us back out of the living room and then out the front door. It wasn't raining, in fact the sun was peaking through the clouds still, however it was still very cold and as mom passed Madison to me I sprinted to the Mercedes. She giggled all the while as I buckled her in and asked me not to let mommy take her tiara.

"I won't." I kissed her on the forehead and slid into the seat next to her. Mom and Lewis got in and within a five minutes we were actually outside Sue Clearwater's house, these people seriously liked to keep family close...

I was stuck with holding Madison as we walked to their front door, I wasn't looking forward to meeting 'the family' but with lunch included, it couldn't be so bad right? Lewis knocked confidently on the door and a few seconds later a tall boy with cropped hair opened the door. I could see the resembelence between him and Leah immediately though as ours eyes locked I realized they didn't share the same dark brown irises, his were much darker and deeper than hers, but now I found that I somehow couldn't look away.


	3. Freaked Out

**Disclaimer - I don't own Twilight or any recognisable characters.**

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**3: Freaked Out**

There was something about his eyes, so tender and intense and I was certain that something lay behind them. Some enjoyable secret. Something so prized yet...dehumanizing. I didn't have time to try and figure out what as Leah clapped him on the shoulder and shot us a dazzling smile. I teared my eyes away from his and blinked, what the hell had just happened...?

"You're here. _Fantastic._" Her tone oozed sarcasm but Lewis didn't hesitate to lead us inside, pushing past his niece and presumably nephew. The boy's arm brushed mine as I passed and it was like a jolt of static electricity, causing me to immediately jump and almost drop Madison. He caught me though, his grip like hot metal; both strong and boiling. He just stared at me then set me upright and let go, I knew that where he'd held me would bruise.

"For god's sakes, be more careful!" Mom took the toddler from me, sending me a reproving look as she did so. See, however hard I tried to actually look after my sister I always did my best when mom wasn't witness, and when she was around something always went wrong. Only this time I had someone else to blame...unlike the cupboard door incident. I shot the boy a glare and he just smiled at me. Leah raised an eyebrow at him but he was still quiet. Odd.

"Careful of the rug, Annie," Leah muttered and I rolled my eyes. Family, it usually means people of blood relations. I couldn't call these people family, I wasn't related to them and I didn't even know them. Dad had always told me that even if water wasn't thicker than blood, it was still something you couldn't live without. That's maybe why I still call his old poker buddies 'uncle Carl' and 'uncle Eithan'. Carl had owned a bar back in Charleston, near James Island and for the past 23 months I used to go there after school and sit by the jukebox. I missed the bar and my pretend uncles, I missed the old 80's jukebox that used to get stuck whenever Aerosmith's Crazy played.

Leah lead us into the front room, collapsing in the armchair. Maddie was looking at me pointedly with eyes as big as saucers, she obviously wasn't happy that I'd let mom take her. It was then I realized Leah's brother had left the room, without even saying goodbye. Oh well.

"So are you gonna go to the Tribal School?" Leah asked me, trying to make conversation now we were seated. I'll add that their sofa was not comfortable at all.

"I think so," I didn't know mom's plans for my education, dragging me out of James Island High in the middle of the semester seemed her first and only step so far.

"You're starting on Monday." Lewis stated and I repressed a groan. Lunch seemed to be the only thing I was looking forward to now. New town, new school - it can't get any worse. Well, so the town is quite picturesque but I so far have no preference on the Tribal School.

A woman came through the doorway, a coffee pot in one hand and a balance of several mugs in the other. I'd already guessed that this was Lewis's sister, you would have to be blind not to see that they looked almost like twins apart from the whole gender thing. She looked a lot like Leah too, or the other way around, but was shorter and plumper...and smilier, "Leah, why didn't you tell me they were here?!" Her eyes traced over me and Madison; she was probably already recognising us as the cute, blond three year old and the weird, heterochromatic sixteen year old. "Aren't you two beautiful," She said, smiling widely still as she poured the coffee. That was new, me and Madison had never both been called beautiful in the same sentence.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," Lewis murmured, giving mom lovey-dovey eyes. I was still on the verge of being happy for them, but now I was slipping into that state where when they showed any signs of affection towards each other I felt nauseous.

"Thanks, Sue." Mom murmured as Sue handed her a mug of steaming coffee.

"Coffee?" Sue offered me and I shook my head. "Where's Seth gone?" She turned to Leah who just shrugged.

"I think he went to go tell the guys his good news." We all frowned at her, then the coffee pot dropped from Sue's hands. I just stared as the pot shattered and the caffeine leaked onto the rug. Sue paid no attention to it, but started out of the room, beckoning Leah with her finger. Once the two Clearwaters were out of the room we were all silent, none of us knew what was going on. Good news? What good news? That his step-cousins were here? That hardly seemed like _good_ news.

Lewis tried to entertain Madison by singing nursery rhymes and I've got to admit I was getting scared when mom joined in after picking up the pieces of shattered glass. Five minutes later Sue came back into the room with a cloth and cleaned up the rest of the glass and spillage, she didn't even look at us but mumbled a 'come into the kitchen'. We did so and I sat awkwardly next to Leah.

**----------**

Turns out we were eating spaghetti for lunch, mom and Sue were talking about food recipes and I dreaded to think if my mother would actually try to make 'duck a l'organge'. I wouldn't eat it, mom's cooking was like...nuclear bad. Leah was just staring at the backdoor, as if waiting and Madison kept flicking bits of sauce at me when the adults weren't looking.

"Anyone for seconds?" Sue offered, pushing her chair out then standing up. She once again didn't look at me as she got the pot of spaghetti and piled some more onto Lewis and Leah's plates, "Usually we don't even have enough for seconds." She muttered and Lewis snorted.

"Seth's appetite is almost a big as Leah's, eh?" He commented and Leah shot him glares.

"Actually, he eats more than me," She protested, rocking back on the chair legs. I used to do that in math, but Miss Finnegan always scorned me when I did it. Miss Finnegan had been crazy strict, but she knew her stuff when it came to teaching. Most of my teachers had been like that, I wonder if the ones at the Tribal School will be like that or just...plain strict.

"I think Madison eats more than anyone..." I muttered and Leah raised her brow, she seemed to be talented at displaying her thoughts through facial expressions.

She half-smiled then said, "You obviously haven't meet the guys."

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened and a dozen 6 ft something guys walked in, smiles plastered on each of their faces. I recognised Seth behind them, shaking his head in some sort of deliberation.

"Now she has!" A guy that was seriously nearer 7 foot than 6 said, dodging round the chairs and sweeping me out of my seat and into boiling bear hug.

"What on eart-" Sue was cut off by several comments from the guys at once, mainly circulating around 'welcome to the family'. Weird or what.

The guy set me down and I was immediately drawn into another hug and then another and another. This was not the type of welcoming comittee I would've guessed I'd get. They were still all talking at once, whether it was to each other, to the clearwaters or my family I wasn't sure.

"Enough...!" Seth burst, opening the back door again, "We had an agreement: you met her, now you leave."

"She doesn't even know our names!" One exclaimed as Seth almost succeeded in pushing him back outside, these guys were seriously huge _and_ strong.

"Maybe she doesn't want to know your names?!" Leah said, getting out of her chair, they took no notice of her and came towards me again.

Okay, so what's a girl to do when she's got twelve or so insanely tall guys backing her into the corner of her step-aunt's kitchen as they fill her ears up with their names? Quil, Jared, Paul, Collin, Jacob, Brady, Aidan, Scott, Embry, Doug, Sam and Lucas - a variety of names for boys that looked almost exactly alike, cropped hair, cut off jeans and chiseled chest. I was surprised they all fitted into the small kitchen, each of them had the bulk of a twenty five year old but judging by some of their faces the shorter ones couldn't be much older than me.

"Done?" Sue asked, we all turned to face her where she stood in the other corner, arms folded and scowling.

"Yup!" Quil grinned, ruffling my hair before following the others back out. Brady and Scott winked at me but Seth shoved them out angrily.

"See you at school!" Doug called, he was the last of them to pile out and I was overwhelmed with relief. That had been very...very...I didn't have a word for it. Their bear hugs had been exasperating because of their strength and heat.

Mom was just staring into space, as if she hadn't even witnessed what had just happened or as if she hadn't wanted to see them all hugging and greeting me. I'll tell you know, I've never had a hug from a boy apart from my dad, so that was...a new experience. A strange experience. Sue was just glaring at Seth now, who was staring at me again.

"I think you've got a fan club..." Lewis muttered and I tucked my hair behind my ear and sat back down, trying to repress the flush that was building in my cheeks.

"Sorry about that...Anna." Seth murmured as he sat down. The way he said my name...it was just weird, it sent shivers down my spine and even he seemed a little freaked out as he said it.

'Freaked out' was my unshakable mood for the rest of the afternoon, even as we had dessert and Seth told me all about the Tribal School, even though I wasn't really interested in anything about education. I could never once look away from his eyes though, that's why I didn't really see it coming when Madison flicked a spoonful of ice cream onto my head. Everyone had erupted into laughter and I'd just glared at my little sister. I've said it before, she's the spawn of the devil. Lewis made an excuse about having to get home at that point, I was half-sad/ half-glad that we were leaving. Glad because the welcoming committee thing had been crazy and I had ice cream in my hair and wanted to wash it out, sad because...well I don't know why.

**-----------**

Monday came too quickly, way too quickly. Mom and I were in the Mercedes, outside the school. My stomach was churning, I knew that within two seconds of being at this place I'd be known as the freak again. That was not what I wanted to be known as, not again. No one had actually mentioned my eyes so far, but in High School people sadly cared about looks over personality most of the time and that often lead to a lot of people hating me for no reason. Heck if they even knew my personality they'd probably still hate me. Perhaps if today doesn't go well I'll ask mom to home-school me, Lewis is smart enough to teach. How pathetic, I'm already dreading this place.

"I'll pick you up at 2:30, okay?" Mom said and I just nodded, staring at the main entrance. There were dozens of kids in between the car and those doors, this would be the equivalent to hell. "Try to make friends, hang around with Seth if you have to," Like I would do either of the two, make friends or hang around with Seth. I could do them, it wasn't impossible...but I was just too stubborn. I thought about what Doug...or Danny...or whatever said, about how they'd see me at school. They would be here too, perfect.

"I'll try," I mumbled and opened the passenger door. You could say that I was apprehensive, fearful and ready to alienate myself because they'd all think I was an alien. Truth was, I just wanted to go home, even if it meant going back to my old school where I was the crowned freak. I really didn't want to be here.

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**A/N: The chapters are gonna get longer, don't worry. I wrote this listening to my playlist, which consists of 30 Seconds To Mars, Paramore and Fall Out Boy. Check out some of their songs, they literally rock X)**


	4. Four Simple Things

**Disclaimer - I sadly don't own Twilight or any recognisable characters, but did you know that the book was turned down by several publishers before Meyer finally got it accepted? My friend told me that anyway...**

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**4: Four Simple Things**

There are four simple things you need to know about me:

1. I don't like doing things I don't want to do, that includes moving across the country so mom can live her little fairy tale for a while.

2. People can be creeped out by my eyes, but if they say anything then I may get the tiniest bit hot-headed. The tiniest bit.

3. I hate talking about my dad even though it helps me a lot of the time to think about him. My dad is in my memory, not on my tongue.

And 4. School, school is my worst enemy.

That's probably why I wanted to do a runner more than before as I took my first steps toward the Tribal School, I felt so light-headed it was maddening. Mom honked once before I heard the roar of the Mercedes engine driving off. There was no going back now, not unless I wanted to do a hike through the forest anyway.

I remembered my first day at James Island HS, all the faces measuring me up like they were doing now. Only I didn't really care what they thought of me, I just wanted to get out of here. Subconsciously my path went slightly to the left, towards the line of trees and I had to force myself to keep heading towards the main entrance. I wish I'd worn my hoodie, so I could pull the hood up and just glide by everyone without them seeing my eyes. Glancing at a small group of girls sitting on a bench, they were looking at me and whispering. No, not whispering...giggling.

I turned my gaze back down to the concrete slabs under my feet and then someone tapped me on the back, turning I realized it was one of the girls from the group. Seeing my eyes she instantly recoiled slightly but then...she..._smiled_? I was almost as surprise as when I saw Leah really smile.

"Nice eyes... you're new, right?" She asked, tracing me once more with her chocolate eyes. It seems all the people on this reservation had the same looks, dark hair, dark eyes and tanned skin. All beautiful too. This girl was extremely beautiful.

"Ah-huh," I nodded, glancing at the girls behind her. They'd turned away, whether as if they weren't paying attention or only pretending not to I didn't know.

"My name's Kaylie," She smiled even wider, showing her dimples.

I repressed another urge to run and mumbled, "I'm Anna."

Kaylie continued to just smile and in the end I started to walk again, but she caught my arm, "Anna, sit with me and my friends at lunch?"

"Okay," She let go and I continued towards the doors faster than before. Pushing them open, I felt some sort of triumph. Maybe it was just the relief of getting away for the prying eyes for at least a few seconds or the fact that it wasn't below a hundred degrees inside. Seriously, the central heating system hit me like a tidal wave and I smiled to myself slightly. It was good to feel some sort of warmth, seeing as the radiators at Lewis's house seemed to be dormant. And I wasn't going to go and ask those...tall guys for a hug again anytime soon.

I noticed a small, mousy lady sitting behind the counter in the main office, she was sizing me up with furrowed eyebrows. I guess those few seconds had been drawn short. Putting on my best fake smile I walked towards the counter and slowly cleared my throat, "Err...I'm new...?"

I'd never done the whole 'I'm new' 'Welcome!' 'Okay...' thing before, so when she responded by nodding slightly and then getting up and going to a metal cabinet I couldn't help but wonder if she would pull out a tazer from the draw and shoot it at me. That way the school would literally shock me. But instead of proving my theory, she pulled out some papers and came back to me, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

"What's your name?" She asked me, turning her gaze down to the computer screen that sat below the counter.

"Reynolds, Anna Reynolds." I mumbled and she typed something in and then a moment later the printer was jittering. She went to retrieve whatever it had produced and came back, sliding it across the counter to me.

"This is your timetable," She told me and then slid the other papers over, "This is a map of the school, though I'm not sure you'll need it and a slip for your parents to sign once you get home - bring it in tomorrow before homeroom." It was amazing, almost as if she had said it in one breath. I was pretty sure she had, maybe she rehearsed different octaves of monotone in her free time.

"...thank you?" She turned back to her work, as if I'd never been there at all and I sighed, shoving the slip into my backpack. I looked at my timetable, I had History then Spanish for starters - my two worst subjects. See, school is my worst enemy.

Room 17... room 17... room 17... where the heck was room 17? As I entered the hallway, I saw that I was opposite room 3, so...17 had to be near-ish. Wrong, after looking at the map I realized that it was on the second story and reluctantly I marched up the stairs, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Finally I found the classroom with seconds to spare before the bell went, unfortunately the rest of the class was already in there and I recognized no one. They all turned to me as I came in though, I bit my lip and walked over to the teacher; a balding man in a tartan suit. I've got to say in any other circumstances if I'd seen him I would've burst out laughing.

"Ah, the new girl. Anna, am I correct?" He said, turning to face me with arms folded across his chest.

I nodded and he smiled slightly, "Take a seat at the back, next to Scott." I looked and saw one of my estranged welcomers, he waved at me slightly and I bit my lip harder. I slid down the aisle to the back and sat down next to him. There were a few murmurs and backwards glances to me but the teacher, whose name if I remembered correctly from the timetable was Mr Hunter, started the lesson.

"Hey," Scott whispered and I tucked my hair behind my ears.

"Err, hi," I mumbled back, trying to keep my voice quiet. I tried to pay attention once I had my stuff on the desk, I really did. But the odds weren't in my favour for doing well in this class and the two guys sitting in front of me turned round, smirking.

"I'm Ron and this is Owen," The blond one told me and I just rocked back on my chair. "Your eyes are pretty damn cool," I almost fell backwards with surprise, but caught myself by grabbing Scott's arm. He glanced at me, smiling slightly and moved his boiling arm as to tug me back upright. I looked back at Ron and Owen.

"Thanks," Was all I could say, unsure actually of what to say.

"You're welcome," Owen said, smirking broadly.

"Mr Gero, Mr Parks, is there a problem?" Our history teacher called suddenly and Ron and Owen snapped their heads back around immediately, glancing at each other as if to get an explanation.

Knowing I'd probably regret it, I spoke up, "I didn't understand what you were saying about Napoleon's tactics, sir... so I just asked them, sorry...?"

Mr Hunter did a double take and grumbled something before turning back around to the board and droning on about the battle of Trafalgar.

"We owe you one," Owen whispered and I rolled my eyes, rocking back on my chair again, only this time the leg slipped and before I could grab Scott it buckled and I fell to the floor with a loud thud. G_reat start Anna, great start, you're on your ass in front of people you don't really know_. Great start.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked me, I knew everyone was looking as he helped me up again. Mr Hunter was scowling darkly at me and I bit my lip.

"The chair...it slipped and...ow?" Some people snickered but Mr Hunter actually didn't say anything and once again went back to writing something on the chalk board.

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Spanish, Home Ec and Chemistry passed without me falling backwards off anymore chairs and soon I was standing in the lunch hall, tray in hand, looking for anyone I recognized. Ron and Owen were sitting with their friends in the corner, throwing what I think was slices of cheese into their mouths. Boys...they had weird ways of entertaining themselves. I saw Kayla sitting with four other girls on the other side of the hall. Then I saw Scott with the rest of his friends at the back, keeping to themselves. I didn't know who I should go to or even if I should go to them.

Someone grabbed my arm, pulling me to face them gently, "Hello."

Seth was wearing a shirt, but still kept his shorts as did the rest of his little - big - group. His hair was untidy but he still looked as handsome as a male model. Wait, he wasn't handsome, not in my eyes anyway. He's my step-cousin not eye candy.

"Hi," I said, glancing down at my tray. The food on it consisted of a baguette, a bottle of Oasis and a muffin. Seth's tray on the other hand...it had enough to feed a small family, let alone a single teenage boy.

"Scott told me you made friends...that's good, I guess." They were spying on me now?

"Yeah, I guess I've made some friends." I muttered, looking back up at him. He was **still** staring at me.

"So...do you want to sit with me?" He offered and I opened my mouth to answer, but no words came.

Thinking back, I realized I had promised Kaylie I'd sit with her and her friends even though I didn't really know them, "I made plans, sorry,"

"That's...umm, fine." After a few seconds of neither of us moving, I dodged round him and headed slowly to Kaylie's table. She looked up and smiled that genuine smile at me again and patted the open seat next to her, I sat down and her friends all looked up from their food at me.

"This is Anna, remember I told you about her?" They all nodded in unison.

"Sup?" The one with the high pony-tail said, reaching a hand out to me to shake, I did so, "I'm Naomi, this is Valerie, Paula and Ashley." She introduced her friends and they went back to their lunch and conversations as I picked the lettuce out of my baguette.

"Not keen on veg?" Paula asked me, brushing her streaked bangs out of her eyes.

"Not really," I muttered, picking the last bit out. My mother was the most creative person when it came to cooking, in fact for Christmas last year we had turkey stuffed with spinach and pineapple. Though it may sound interesting, the taste certainly wasn't. I don't like vegetables because of her, fruit is fine as long as it isn't tampered with though.

I sneaked a look over to Seth's table, he was looking at me too and we both instantly looked away.

"What do you think Anna?" Naomi asked me and I raised my brows, not knowing what they'd been talking about at all.

"About what?" I said sheepishly and she just sighed. They didn't bother to tell me what the question had been, but continued into a different topic; fashion. I didn't listen again.

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Gym was my last lesson, I'd made it through the whole day without having to scream.

But then again, we had dodge ball and if I was hit too hard then screaming would be high on the probability scale. Once we were all changed into our gym clothes the coach lead us into the gymnasium where the boys were already throwing the balls at each other. Seth was spinning one on his finger when I came in and it fell as he looked at me. Kaylie grabbed my hand, dragging me over to the some girls I hadn't met before.

"Right, team captains; Manson and Clearwater. Take your pick," The coach went to go unpack the duffle of dodge balls whilst Seth and a short girl with heavy eyeliner came to the front.

"I pick, Robert." The girl announced and a boy with thick eyebrows went over to her, now it was Seth's turn. I was actually interested in seeing who his friends were in this class.

"Anna." It took me about 3 maybe 4 seconds to understand that he meant me and my eyes widened.

"W-what?" I choked out and Seth tilted his head, meaning for me to come over. I shot Kaylie a glance of desperation, but she was in deep conversation with her friends. Sighing deeply, I reluctantly made my way over to Seth, who just smiled at me. There was a difference between his smile and Leah's, his was carefree and simple, easy as breathing. Leah's seemed to be forced, or draped over some other emotion.

"Tyler," The other team captain said and then it was Seth's turn again, but he didn't speak. He was just staring at me with his deep, dark eyes.

"Seth! Pick already!" Some guy whose name I didn't know shouted, but Seth acted as if he hadn't heard it.

"Seth." I murmured through gritted teeth, "Pick someone." His eyes shot away from mine and he looked around innocently.

"Oh, Jonathan." The rest of the teams were picked without more delay, and then the coach blew her whistle, telling us to go to one end of the court and the other team to the other.

"I can't play dodge ball," I told Seth quietly and he just winked at me as the whistle blew again, announcing play.

Balls were flying everywhere but strangely enough not one of them hit me throughout the game, mainly because Seth knocked aside each one with protective ease. Then finally I had a chance to hit one back, I did so and ended up knocking their team captain out. She glared darkly at me - it was even more menacing because of her heavy liner - and she went to join the others on the bench.I got the chance to hit two more balls, however I didn't get anyone else out. Then the whistle blew again, ending the match now that it was only Seth and I left on the court.

"Clearwater's team wins!" She announced and some cheers erupted from the bench before we headed out of the gym again.

"Well done," Seth said to me and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"If it wasn't for you I would've been out straight away," I replied and he laughed before I turned and went back into the girls changing room. As I walked in I earned more glares from the latter of the girls in my class and I groaned inwardly and went to my stuff. Obviously hanging out with Seth as a taboo if you weren't popular enough. I'd seen how most of the girls on the court had watched Seth with lustful brown eyes and I knew I'd felt a little jealous. Why? I wasn't sure.

I got changed back into my old grey jeans and striped shirt then before I knew it the bell rang again. 2:30, finally. Grabbing my stuff, I didn't wait to say goodbye to the supposed friends I'd made and dodged out of the doors only to bump into _him_.

"Were you waiting for someone?" I asked Seth and he opened his mouth to answer but closed it again, thinking.

"N-no, not really. Just...hanging." I snorted and raised an eyebrow.

"You were just hanging?" I repeated and he nodded, "Just hanging outside the girl's locker room?" He nodded slightly again, flushing, "That's creepy."

"Hey, I saved your ass in dodge ball," He retorted and I swung my backpack onto my shoulder.

"I said thanks," I started off out of the sports hall and wasn't surprised when Seth found himself in step with me.

"Actually, you didn't say thank you." He pointed out and I just pulled my hair out of the loose bun I'd tied it in for the period.

"Fine then. Thank you, Seth." He laughed as we walked to the main entrance. We were both quiet, neither knowing what to say. As we came out the doors I saw Embry, Jacob and Quil by the bench...shaking cans of soda at each other. I also saw the Mercedes opposite, mom had the windows rolled down and was reapplying her make up, she'd done it at a stop sign this morning.

"I'd better go," We both said at the same time and then we both laughed.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," I told him and he just smiled that carefree smile. He walked over to the bench and I sprinted to the car, mom gave me a welcoming smile.

After I got in and she restarted the car she asked, "How was school, darling?"

"Not as bad as I would've thought." I mumbled and she lit up immediately.

"So it was good???" Mom asked, pulling away from where she'd parked and starting down the road.

I glanced back at the bench to see they were already gone, sighing I turned back around.

"No, I just said it wasn't _that_ bad, not that it _wasn't_ bad."

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**A/N: Wow, so many reviews so far! I'm ecstatic, truly. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far!**


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